Exploring Ancient Texts Activity PDF

EXPLORING ANCIENT TEXTS ACTIVITY  BACKGROUND CONTEXT The city-states of southern Mesopotamia o en are collectively called “Sumerian civilization,” but each each city-state was relatively independent. They all shared cuneiform writing, a pantheon of gods and goddesses, ziggur...

EXPLORING ANCIENT TEXTS ACTIVITY  BACKGROUND CONTEXT The city-states of southern Mesopotamia o en are collectively called “Sumerian civilization,” but each each city-state was relatively independent. They all shared cuneiform writing, a pantheon of gods and goddesses, ziggurats (*end of the Early Dynastic period; Figure 9.7), metalworking, and complex social hierarchies with social classes and status di erences between elites and commoners, and also between cra and other specialists. The earliest writing in Mesopotamia developed as a way of recording economic transactions and included seals, sealings, counters, bullae, and numerical tablets. (Olszewski, Chapter 9)  RELIGION AND RITUAL Each Early Dynastic city had a patron deity, and temples were dedicated to them. –Ur was the domain of Nanna (the moon goddess). –Ningirsu (god of the plow and thundershowers) was the patron of Lagash. –Anu (the sky god) and Inanna (goddess of love and war) were associated with Uruk. –Enlil (storm winds god) was associated with Nippur.  WARFARE AND VIOLENCE Individual city-states battled over access to agricultural land, water rights, and control of exchange and trade networks. Power was divided between about a dozen city-states, and never dominated by one for long. Art from this period depicts soldiers in phalanxes armed with shields, spears, axes, chariots, maces, and daggers. Average soldiers were probably indebted people with few options. Warfare was another way of capturing slaves and adding to a cityʼs labor pool. (Olszewski, Chapter 9)  CONTEXT The city-states of southern Mesopotamia o en are collectively called “Sumerian civilization,” but each each city-state was relatively independent. They all shared cuneiform writing, a pantheon of gods and goddesses, ziggurats (*end of the Early Dynastic period; Figure 9.7), metalworking, and complex social hierarchies with social classes and status di erences between elites and commoners, and also between cra and other specialists. (Olszewski, Chapter 9)  TEN WORD WRIT ph ic w r it te n : T he id e o g r a c u ne if o r m p er io d s Proto a n d J e m d et N a s r o f th e Ur u k la ng u a g e r io d i n th e E D p e r m f o ll o w e d g C un e if o f o r r e c o rd in in g , b u t als o o r bo o kk e ep d U s ed f c ip e lis ts , a n c r ip t io n s, re h s , ro y a l in s myt ritua l h ym n s  WRITTEN WORD The earliest writing in Mesopotamia developed as a way of recording economic transactions and included seals, sealings, counters, bullae, and numerical tablets.  TRY IT YOURSELF MONOGRAM LINK click to know your name Create an individu alized “monogram” of y our name. You can click on “ Sumerian Scribe” to learn m ore about the history and d evelopment of cuneiform.  WRITT Writin g was E N WORD cla ss call restri cted to ed scr a n occu ibes w pation ho con al la t rolle d Even k n guage. writte ings, p n riests usuall ,/pries y unab tesses Cuneif le to read o w ere deciph o r m is still r write. ered. H not co oweve mplete insight r, it gi ly s into ves us Sumer invalua ian so ble c  EXAMPLE: THE OIKOI ECONOMY “Superfamilies” combined kin-based households with nonkin labor. Lower ranked or indebted people could work for elite landowners, temples, and palaces. Each superhousehold was an oikos This system, which included the enslavement of debtors and war captives, rapidly increased social inequalities. (Olszewski, Chapter 9)  SOCIAL LIFE Cuneiform tablets describe ranked and gendered lists of professionals The oikoi economy extended these rankings to include contracted workers, slaves, rulers, religious and military elites, scribes, overseers, bureaucrats, merchants, traders, and commoners. Social stratification is seen archaeologically in burials. (Olszewski, Chapter 9)  ROLES OF WOMEN AND MEN IN MESOPOTAMIA (P. 286) The division of labor during the Early Dynastic o en was along gender lines. Men did manual labor in agricultural fields and the lower military ranks was done by men, as was herding of animals. Women were the work force engaged in making textiles and mats, but they also herded pigs and worked in orchards. Males captured in war became slaves in the palace superhouseholds, whereas captured females became slaves in the temple superhouseholds.  H A T T H E Y T S K N O W W A E O L O G IS D O AR C H HOW KNOW? n i a n le g a l t e x t d e , a B a b y lo a b iʼs L a w C o h e m o s t Hammu r C , i s o n e o f t 1 7 5 5 – 1 7 5 0 B se d d u rin g r y. W h e n compo t s i n h u m a n h is t o u s d o c u m e n e d i a te ly famo ʼ s c o d e , i t is im m a m m u ra b i t d e a l t reviewi n g H l c o n te x t th a i n a c u ltu r a t h a t h e liv e d h a n o u r s. apparent y c o n c e rn s t n t d a y - t o -d a a t d i e r e m e n ts th with very o m a n y fa m i l ia r e le th e r e a r e a ls m. How e v er , t l e g a l s y s te o o u r p re se n persist in t  SEE FOR YOURSELF When reviewing Hammurabiʼs code, it is immediately apparent that he lived in a cultural context that dealt with very di erent day-to-day concerns than ours. However, there are also many familiar elements that persist into our present legal system.  CODE OF HA Take a MMUR closer ABI look a t the C Hamm ode of urabi:  ACTIVITY: lu d es 2 8 2 h o o l, i n c a le L a w Sc la b l e b y Y a re no t a d e a v a i n d s om e sl a tio n , m l e to d a y a m y Th is tr an a p p l ic a b u ar e n o t S o m e a r e a st e r : ʻY o p o in t s. y t o h is m distinct 2 : “ If a s la v e s a o h is e ar.” , p o i n t 2 8 s h al l c u t he a m p le m a st e r ld. In t For ex n v ic t h im h is e m o d e rn w or if t h e y c o o st o f th an m as te r,ʼ a b le t o m n o t se en rl y a p p lic a n e a r is p a rt ic u la c u t tin g o t nd This is no v e r y is il le g al a t a te s , s l a im e. Unit e d S f o r an y cr n is h m e n t e p u acceptabl